Get beat by Elvis Dumervil then and it was hardly a big deal, especially since the quarterbacks couldn't be touched anyway.

That deal is now off as Clady tries to keep Peyton Manning safe from the dangerous Dumervil, who returns to Mile High on Thursday night as a hybrid linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens after departing Denver in the offseason.

"He's a good player in this league and he's definitely a challenge," said Clady, who was named one of the team's captains this week. "I'm looking forward to the challenge and just playing my game, seeing if I can get the best of him."

Clady knows Dumervil's moves quite well, how he relies on leverage and his long arms to blow past offensive tackles. That's the way Dumervil collected an NFL-leading 17 sacks in 2009.

And Dumervil knows Clady quite well, too, how the 6-foot-6, 315-pound left tackle uses his quick feet to thwart rushers. Clady is coming off a Pro Bowl season in which he allowed just one sack.

It's an intriguing matchup, one that's going to take some getting used to for offensive coordinator Adam Gase.

"Just seeing (Dumervil) with a different team, it's weird to watch because I'm just used to seeing him in our uniform," Gase said. "He's a good player and we'll be ready for him."

Dumervil has long been a fan favorite in the Mile High City, only to leave town under strange circumstances. He was all set to agree on a new deal with the Broncos when a fax foul-up prevented that from happening and the team cut him to save money, making him a free agent. He then signed with Baltimore.

In Denver last season, Dumervil formed a nearly unstoppable pass rushing tandem with Von Miller as the dynamic duo accounted for 29 1/2 of Denver's league-best 52 sacks.

Dumervil's now a rival and Miller will be on the sideline as he serves a six-game suspension for violating the NFL's drug-abuse policy.

To get to Manning, Dumervil will more than likely have to go through Clady, who's started every game since he was drafted in the first round out of Boise State in 2008.

Clady has been limited this summer as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery.

Then again, the entire line has been a little beat up and in need of a little reshuffling after center Dan Koppen was lost for the year with an ACL injury. Manny Ramirez will now snap the ball to Manning.

Still, the undisputed leader of that line is Clady, who signed a five-year deal in July worth up to $57.5 million.

"It's good just to have that weight off my shoulders and not have to worry about it," he said. "It's good just to know I'll be a Bronco long-term."

Knowing the speed at which Manning wants to operate this season, Clady worked his way into top shape by training for a half marathon.

He finished one, too, even if he had to walk some of it.

Keeping up with Manning's up-tempo pace will be just as much of a challenge.

"It's a mental thing because once you get out of breath, it's just a lot more thinking and you've got to hone in and focus," Clady explained. "It's pretty tough."

But it also makes the defense exhausted, too, right?

"No question," he said. "But they get to rotate on the defensive line, so they don't get that winded. It's one of those things. As an offensive lineman, you have to be in there every play."

NOTES: Broncos CB Champ Bailey (foot), RB C.J. Anderson (knee) and TE Joel Dreessen (knee) didn't practice Tuesday. ... Asked if the Broncos had unfinished business after the playoff loss to Baltimore last season, WR Eric Decker said: "They beat us fair and square. But that game will always be with me."